by Ellie Hall
He owed his daughter the truth, at least this one. “It’s true, I grew up here.”
“In this house? Is that why you know it isn’t haunted?”
Brynn bit her lip, eyeing him apologetically as though realizing he hadn’t mentioned anything about his connection to the farmhouse.
He offered her a soft smile, indicating it was okay. “Ms. Powell, which room do you think was mine?”
“The baseball-themed one.”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“Well, I guess that’s good because I was thinking Harper could have that one when she’s here. Although the wallpaper looks like it’ll be just as tough to remove as it was in the bathroom.”
“Who had the baseball room, Daddy?” Harper asked.
Instead of answering, he said, “Mine was the room with the sky painted on the ceiling.”
Brynn looked confused as though she’d never noticed.
“I’ll show you.” They went down the hall to the smallest room at the end. “This was my room.”
“Why are there skis on the wall?” Harper asked.
“I really liked skiing when I was a kid.”
“You sure must’ve because look at all those trophies.” Harper wandered over to a shelf that housed awards, ribbons, trophies, and a gold medal displayed in the middle.
Brynn must have noticed it too. “Is that yours?”
He nodded. He’d left it all there along with everything else about his past.
She brushed her hand down the rounded edge and then picked it up. Amusement lit her eyes as she brought it to her mouth and took a fake bite as so many Olympians did for the press. As she lowered it, she said, “Who are you, Owen Hawkins?”
Chapter 7
Brynn
Owen Hawkins was like a puzzle. There was the devastatingly handsome piece, the doting father piece, police officer, baseball fan, cinnamon roll lover, country dancer—the guy had moves that had electrified her, sending her abuzz with excitement when they were at the Hawk and Whistle.
Then there were the pieces she wasn’t sure how to put together: he was an Olympian gold medalist, previously married, and there was something about his family that he wasn’t sharing. Particularly what Ken Welk had suggested about his father’s will—not that the details were her business, but it burdened Owen in a way that she recognized. A piece was missing and she’d been looking for it all her life as well. Family. Only, she knew he had one, and a big one at that with four brothers, but not why he wouldn’t talk about them or why Harper didn’t know her grandmother.
The Hawkins name carried a lot of weight in Hawk Ridge Hollow. Owen seated in her kitchen, devouring the pot pie she’d made like it was the only homecooked meal he’d ever had in his life, seemed not to want to associate with it.
After they had dessert, Harper asked if it was okay if she watched her favorite Disney show.
“She got hooked since moving into the resort,” Owen said as Brynn turned on the television set in the other room.
She watched the show for a moment with Harper. From the kitchen, the water ran and cutlery clinked, suggesting Owen was cleaning up.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said from the doorway.
“I can’t help cook so the least I can do is wash the dishes.” He had the just perfect amount of stubble and his shirt clung to his defined arms and shoulders.
She sighed. “Well, I won’t argue about it. I’m happy to cook for more than one person. When it’s just me, I make a meal and it lasts all week. Gets boring after a while, eating the same thing over and over. If you’d like, you can drop Harper off in time for dinner but before your shift each evening. That way you won’t go to work on an empty stomach.”
He paused scrubbing a pan as the water continued to run and turned to Brynn. His eyes were clear, his gaze steady as though making a decision. “Thank you. That’s awfully sweet of you. I’ll buy the groceries.”
“It’s a deal.”
After they were done, she set some water to boil for tea. Laughter came from the TV in the other room. The house felt more alive, somehow warmer even though the temperatures were dropping as winter swiftly approached.
Owen sat down at the table and Brynn poured the tea. She let out a breath that it felt like she’d been holding since she’d given him the tour of his old house. “I think I know why you told me about your ex-wife, Harper’s mother.”
He went still. She didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable but felt the need to tell him, of all people. He might be able to understand.
“You told me that part of your story so I could find the courage to talk about John... You saw the photograph upstairs. John McGrath was my husband. Like you, he was a police officer, but he was killed in the line of duty.”
“McGrath? Chicago?” Owen rasped. He raked his hand through his hair. “I was there that night. Oh, Brynn. I was there.”
Her world stopped. A chill iced her skin. Her breathing ceased for sure.
She knew the entire story. It had been just after sundown. Drug and gang-related. Backup had been called in. It escalated quickly. The assailants opened fire. John was shot. He’d almost made it, but lost too much blood. They couldn’t save him.
Owen shook his head. “I’m sorry, so sorry. It all happened so fast. By the time my partner and I got there, we were too late. The other officers had made the arrests and John had already left in the ambulance, but I don’t have to tell you how arriving at a scene like that is...devastating.”
Tears tracked down her cheeks.
His voice had been strong, for her, for his fellow officers. However, the way he pulled her into a hug told a different story. His emotions were in the physicality of it. The way he held her tight, bunched her shirt up in his hands, and the way his heart thudded against hers.
After a moment, he gripped her upper arms and held her at length, holding her gaze. “Brynn, I would never assume I could replace him or fill up that space inside you, but I am here for you. Whatever you need. I am here.” He pulled her close again.
She softened against him, allowing him to hold her, releasing all the tension and pain that she’d been holding onto, letting it go.
Over the years, she’d let herself cry, she’d bawled, screamed, and had fallen apart in hysterics, but anchored there with Owen, she felt a new kind of steadiness, a strength of her own.
Her grief would show up at unexpected times for the rest of her life, but something shifted as though blown away by the wind, or fortified by the surrounding mountains, and the man in front of her. It was like John was finally at peace, knowing she was no longer alone.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Just then Harper popped out from the living room. “My show is over. Can I watch another?”
Owen lifted and lowered one shoulder. “That’s up to Ms. Powell. But I should get going. Ready to say goodnight?” He walked toward the door and took his coat from the stand.
“No, let’s go sledding,” Harper said.
“Don’t we need snow for that?” Brynn asked.
“Of course,” Harper said as Owen put on his coat.
“She means at the resort,” Owen clarified.
“Sledding at night?”
“It’s one of the activities over there. A lift takes you to the top and a snow tube takes you down.” Owen grinned as though he enjoyed it as much as his daughter did.
“A personal chef and a sledding run where you don’t have to schlepp up the hill? Fancy,” Brynn said.
Owen and Harper both had the ability to brighten her mood instantly. Her therapist would be proud of her progress.
He chuckled.
Harper hung on his arm. “Daddy, this has been the best night ever I don’t want it to end.”
“How about we go sledding tomorrow night? We’ll have dinner early,” Brynn suggested.
“I have a meeting.” Owen jiggled the porch light until it came on and then stepped outside and took out his keys.
&nbs
p; “Wednesday or Thursday?” she asked as they walked him to the truck.
“Let’s say Thursday.”
“It’s a date. I mean, a sled-date,” she said, running the words together.
Harper giggled as they neared the two trucks, parked side by side. One blue and one silver, bright in the moonlight.
They walked around the back to the driver’s side.
“I see now why you mentioned you like my truck and that I shouldn’t get a replacement.” He thumbed her Ford.
“Oh, you mean the beast? I figured it’d be good in the snow. But you’re right. I like trucks.” ...and she liked him. A lot.
After Harper went to sleep, Brynn immediately dialed Phoebe.
“Hello, stranger,” she said when she answered.
“Hawkins. What should I know about that name?”
“Other than the name Owen that goes in front of it who happens to be the hottest guy in town? Well, hottest single guy, unless you count the old man on the mountain. He’s the elusive one, the recluse, the youngest brother.”
“I thought you said, ‘the old man on the mountain’? Never mind.” She could find out about that later. Brynn swore her friend to silence under penalty of no-more-baked-treats and told her about dinner at the Hawk and Whistle, the comment Ken Welk had made, and how Owen wouldn’t talk about his family. She instantly felt guilty, not wanting to gossip behind his back. As Phoebe started to blab, she cut her off. “No, wait. This feels wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I’m going to get this piece of the puzzle, I’ll talk to him myself.”
“The puzzle?” asked Phoebe.
“Yeah. There are all these parts to Owen. He’s closed off. Doesn’t talk about his personal life. I want to know more, know him, but...”
“Brynn, in this instance, I’d say it takes one to know one.”
“What do you mean?” Brynn said, echoing Phoebe’s question.
“All of those things you just said, they apply to you too.”
Brynn started to defend herself, but Phoebe cut across her. “It took me weeks to find out your favorite flavor ice cream, we still haven’t had that girls’ night, you never talk about life back in Chicago, your family, or anything vaguely personal.” Leave it to Phoebe to be blunt, to lay it all out there.
Brynn was quiet for a moment as it all became clear. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Maybe you’ll draw it out of each other. Maybe you’ll make a new puzzle or whatever— together. You’re a great person and I’m happy to be your friend, even if it’s taking a while to develop our friendship. For your sake, I hope whatever’s brewing between the two of you, you let it turn into a relationship.”
The two talked for a few more minutes, leaving Brynn with a lot to think about.
But as the next days passed at work, afternoons spent with Owen in the classroom, and fun with Harper in the evenings, she hardly had a moment to reflect on what Phoebe had said. Her thoughts were full of lesson plans, brainstorming fundraising activities for the school with Owen, and with Harper. They’d take after dinner walks, watch movies, read stories, and they even made up nicknames for each other because it felt strange having Harper call her Ms. Brynn.
On Thursday evening, she drove to the resort for sledding, her first time setting foot on the property. In her mind, she’d put it up on a pedestal, a place only for the wealthy and well-heeled—er, snow-booted—to visit. It had a certain prestige in the town that she was still a newcomer in.
Owen waved as she approached the lodge, glowing through its many windows and making the surrounding snow glitter. Harper was dressed in purple, pink, and white snow gear. On her head, she wore a hat with a sparkly unicorn horn in the middle.
“I like your hat,” Brynn said.
“I go so fast down the hill, it feels like I’m flying.” Harper spread her arms like wings and ran in a circle.
“In that case, wouldn’t you need to be a Pegasus?” Owen asked.
“A pegicorn, Daddy,” she corrected. “That’s a flying unicorn. They’re really rare.”
“If you really want to feel like you’re flying, we should go skiing,” Owen said.
“I’m scared.” Harper’s voice was small.
“Want to know a secret?” Brynn asked.
Owen’s eyes flashed in her direction.
“Well, not entirely a secret, but here it is. I’ve never skied either. The secret part is that I’m scared too. I’m afraid if I fall down it’ll hurt.”
“Not if you know how to fall.” Owen tucked his hands in his pockets.
Brynn took Harper’s hand. “You know, your dad has a really good point. Remember all those trophies and the Olympic medal that we saw in his old room? I bet that makes him a really good teacher. Maybe the best teacher. What do you say you and I try skiing some time? How about before the year is over?”
Harper chewed on her lip. “Okay, I’ll try.”
“Alright,” Owen said, pumping his fist. “We’ll do it. You name the day and time, I’ll be there.” Excitement buzzed in his voice.
They got in line for the lift to the top of the sledding hill with other families, several teenagers, and even couples Brynn’s age. Owen’s comment using the word we, as simple as it was, echoed in her ears.
We. A family. That’s what she’d always wanted. What she’d prayed for during all those difficult years when she was growing up. She’d wanted a place to belong. Then later, when she’d grown up, she wanted nothing more than to provide a place for the people she loved to know that they belonged and to feel at home with them. She wanted that togetherness where they could rely on one another when life was difficult and to celebrate triumphs. She’d almost had it with John, but that was not to be and not only because he’d passed away. She only wished that she’d told him everything about the diagnosis sooner.
The delighted cries of another family as they sailed down the mountain met Brynn’s ears. At that moment she realized that she may not have a family to call her own, but she felt a fullness inside that she’d never before experienced. She had what Harper had called a unicorn feeling.
For the next few hours, they went sledding, made snow angels, and a snowman—to which they then added a snow lady, and a snowgirl.
Brynn stepped back, watching as Harper added the finishing touches.
“It’s what I’ve always wanted.” Her tone was thin, yet wistful, a whisper.
“What’s that?” Owen asked.
She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud.
“Oh, nothing.”
“Nothing?” he asked. “That didn’t sound like nothing.” His eyes were on hers, his police officer eyes, the kind that knew something was up.
She shrugged and then pointed.
“I have to admit, I look pretty good as a snowman, but I have bad news. It’ll melt.” He winked.
She knew that though. Just when things were going well in her life, when she and John were trying for a baby, everything had been taken from her.
But Phoebe’s comments came back. She didn’t have to freeze Owen out. She could tell him the truth. “I’ve always wanted a family.”
He didn’t say anything in response, just put his arm around her shoulder, closing the space between them. He warmed her up, thawed her out. It was a start.
Harper shouted, “Look! Now it’s perfect. I added a snow dog to our frozen family.”
Harper was right. It was perfect.
Brynn was going to tell him about her childhood, but the moment had passed.
Owen led them inside the resort, using a rear entry that opened with a special card.
“We usually use this entrance because Daddy doesn’t want to make a scene. People are always stopping him and asking questions.” Harper rolled her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and tilted her head from side to side. “But you should see it. The chandelier is very sparkly and everything is polished and shiny and grand. There’s even a fountain.”
If the w
ide hallway with the plush carpet was any indication, the resort was already impressive. They took an elevator with a pair of gilt doors up to the top floor.
“The penthouse?”
“Only the best for my little girl,” Owen said.
“It’s very fancy, but I’m not really supposed to touch anything. Like all the polished stuff.” Harper held her hands tightly together.
Owen grunted.
Brynn recalled his comments about growing up in the farmhouse with his mother’s antique furniture. Thankfully, the boys’ rooms seemed to be more to their tastes than the rest of the house, but still, it was all professionally decorated and didn’t have the lived-in feel of family life.
The hotel was amazing, but it wasn’t a home. Then again Harper wasn’t her daughter. But maybe she could give her what she’d never had when she was little. “I’d been thinking of redoing the room Harper stays in at night. Remember when we met Mrs. Barnett? She’s a designer and—”
The elevator dinged, indicating their floor.
“Of course,” Owen answered. “Sounds good.”
Harper cheered.
When they entered the suite, a fire was already lit. Two cups of tea were steaming on a table nearby.
“Wow. That’s some service.”
He nodded, but a shadow crossed his eyes. “Harper, please go get ready for bed. It’s getting late.”
She hedged but then gave in.
Brynn and Owen settled onto a couch in front of the fire with their tea. She wrapped her hands around the warm mug, heating them through after being outside in the snow for so long. A part of her was melting too, maybe falling...but she was afraid because life had taught her that the inevitable loss would hurt.
“Harper is a lucky little girl,” Brynn said.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s lucky to have you. You’re a great dad. When I was growing up—” She pushed against the tightness in her throat. “I was in and out of foster homes. My parents had a lot of problems. Well, the last time I saw my mother was when I was six. I think I saw my father when I was four, but that was the only time. I mean, I think it was him. Either that or some creepy guy who said he was my father.”
